Why the Milwaukee Bucks' next opponent can be their inspiration

For teams that aren't natural geographical rivals, the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks have sure been linked a lot of late.

There were the three playoff series during the Heat's Jimmy Butler era -- an era named after a player who competed collegiately for a school (Marquette) in Milwaukee -- two of which were won by the Heat, and one of which had Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo contemplating and redefining the meaning of "failure."

And of course, there have been the constant rumors that the Heat would try to pry Giannis away, most recently making offers prior to the trade deadline that were rejected as the Bucks decided to keep their franchise guy until at least the offseason.

Now there's another reason to put the two franchises together.

As the Heat visit the Bucks in Milwaukee on Tuesday night, they are the example of a team that has gotten out of the Play-In Tournament and advanced deep in the playoffs. The Heat did it in 2023, when they were just 44-38 during the regular season, lost the first Play-In game to the Atlanta Hawks, and had to survive an elimination game against the Chicago Bulls just to qualify for a full series.

That full series came against.... you guessed it, the Milwaukee Bucks.

And you might remember, Butler went nuts.

He was unstoppable, in a way he'd never been in the regular season.

That included 56 points in Game 4, of a 4-1 Heat series victory.

That catapulted the Heat to a second round series with the Knicks, which Miami also won, though Butler was limited after Josh Hart took out his ankle. Even so, the Heat survived a battle with Boston thanks to role player Caleb Martin's heroics before finally flaming out against the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals.

Are the Bucks capable of something similar this season?

Their record, much worse than Miami's that 2022-23, would suggest they're not. But they do have a player of at least Butler's equal in Giannis, who is a bit younger than when Butler went nuclear in that postseason. They have found some helpful guards in Ryan Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr. and Cam Thomas, as the Heat did with Gabe Vincent and Max Strus. They have a versatile big in Myles Turner, even if he is not Bam Adebayo's equal.

And the East, you could argue, is no more daunting at the top than it was in 2023, when the Bucks were the No. 1 seed and had a more experienced roster than Detroit does now; and then, the Celtics had a healthy Jayson Tatum, who may play this season but is recovering from Achilles' tendon surgery so it's tough to say how strong he'll be.

Could the Bucks get out of a play-in tournament, against the likes of Charlotte, Orlando and Atlanta? Well, Giannis, if healthy and motivated, would likely be the best player in the series. And certainly, if the Bucks secured the 8th seed, Detroit would rather not see him.

So it's unlikely, but not impossible, that the Bucks could make a run that reminds of those Heat teams -- a reminder no one in Milwaukee might have wanted til now.